Part One of three episodes rounding up the best in alternative listening for 2022. Not definitive, not meant…
The sounds before the sounds. What successful bands sounded like before they sold out stadiums. Often better.
A tribute to Mimi Parker of Low and Keith Levene of early PIL and founder member of The…
John Cale is 80: no second invitation needed to celebrate the Velvets, his solo work, his musical contributions…
Braces, tire swings, then love and other catastrophes. Songs about the indignities and thrills of being young.
Perth, a thousand miles from anywhere else, and West Australia more broadly have always had their unique thing…
25 Years of living under the reign of Mogwai. Interlaced with some influences on the band themselves.
Tributes, hymns, odes to. Songs for, Homages about. Not people though. Binoculars, divorce and androids amongst others.
Songs about the class system, about the bourgeoisie, about unfairness, about inequality. But with humour too.
The inheritors of the ’60s psychedelic bands are the latter-day Neo-Psychedelia practitioners. Here’s an episode featuring them.
The conch is handed to listeners of the podcast who feature here in the bands they play in.
Songs about actors, songs about movies, songs about actors in movies.
Great tracks from TV shows, good, bad and indifferent.
More songs about cameras and photography.
Guest host this episode is Jowe Head, veteran of many groups and especially beloved by post-punk aficionados for…
Now there’s a Two Tone museum in Coventry, here’s a celebration of the label and the original ska…
To celebrate a certain milestone, the first letters of the these favourite Sombrero tracks spell out BIRTHDAY EPISODE.
It’s 30 years since Pavement’s Slanted & Enchanted landed on our CD shelf. Here’s an episode celebrating its…
Collaborations don’t always work, but these alternative examples of the art form are inspired.
A guest host episode with a member of the Haslam Musical Dynasty – and the UK’s leading cryptic…
A celebration of the music, mostly alternative, being made in Ukraine today.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, an episode of alternative female artists to watch out for in 2022.
For the 100th edition of Sombrero Fallout, listeners have written in with their choice of an artist never…
An alternative world of music for Valentine’s Day
Like Princess Diana, Billy McKenzie of The Associates said goodbye in 1997. But the comparison stops there because…
Terry Edwards, go to session man, but also member of The Higsons, Gallon Drunk and the NJE guest…
The Top Tracks from 2021 as chosen by Sombrero Fallout. Eclectic, eccentric, essential.
The second of three episodes rounding up the best alternative tracks from 2021.
The first episode in this year’s best tracks selection, in the opinion of Sombrero Fallout.
A survey of all that’s great in Australian post-punk over the last few years.
A celebration of the debt owed by the bands who listened to My Bloody Valentine’s soundscape masterpiece from…
Berlin, internationally famous for its clubs, its lifestyle, its vibe. Take a tour with a collection of songs…
Part 2 of the Sombrero interview with indie music maven Pinko Fowler. Tales of Mark E Smith, Snub…
Songs about books, reading, writing, libraries. Unfashionable these days, maybe, but the inspiration for some great tracks.
Modern life can often be very vexatious, even if cognitively we know we’re better off than ever. Here’s…
A tribute to Richard H Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire, electronic visionary, who died recently at the age of…
Pinko Fowler has videoed every indie star in the known universe (just about). Friends of the Fall, Sonic…
The very best type of cover song adds something new to the original. The icing on the cake?…
A tribute to the recently departed Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the architect behind reggae and dub.
Alternative improv comedian and DJ to the stars (e.g. Cher)Andrew McLelland co-hosts this eclectic mix of Australian indie-folk,…
Confessionals, memoirs, autobiographies – call them what you like, a collection of brilliant, highly personal songs.
To coincide with the release of Edgar Wright’s outstanding Sparks Brothers movie, here’s 50 years of the Maels…
For half a century, one propulsive descending riff has provided not just covers but a framework for any…
The guest host is Rajan Datar, BBC journalist, star of TV and Radio, and long time bass player…
From the northern line to the north circular, some tracks celebrating London and London life.
A celebration of alternative European music from countries competing at the 2021 Euros.
It’s the third wave of Post-Punk and it’s happening right now!
From Arcade Fire to Helena Deland, Montreal is arguably the music capital of Canada. Here we take a…
Dave O’Neil, comedian, film star, radio host, TV quiz panellist and bass player with Captain Cocoa, guest hosts…
Some of the 4AD label’s classic artists: from the Birthday Party to St Vincent, the Cocteaus to Pixies…
Brian Eno has been inventing, making, producing and collaborating on half a century of boundary-expanding music. Let’s celebrate…
A brisk walk through a dark, deadpan, detached setlist. A lot more fun than it sounds. To add…
In their first year (1980-81), before they’d identified their trademark sound, New Order still managed to influence vast…
A tour through the byways of Irish alternative music over the last half century. From Stiff Little Fingers…
From John Cale to the Manics, Anhrefn via the Darling Buds, Colossal Youth through Gorky’s to Derrero and…
If you’re looking for the real indie, here’s the NY/Long Island scene that flourished at the turn of…
Three years ago this week we lost Mark E Smith. Here’s a tribute to the music of the…
Punk before punk – how punk is that. AKA garage rock or, as this episode’s title has it,…
A chance to hear some of the new female artists destined to make waves on the 2021 alternative…
A round up of the 12 “best” alternative tracks of 2020. Sombrero Fallout bears no responsibility for the…
The first of two episodes curating some of the best alternative tracks of 2020.
The Go Betweens – the greatest of all Australian bands? Decide for yourself in this episode, paying tribute…
A look at the link between the original early ’70s dub reggae artists, such as Lee Perry and…
We know about the golden age of early 80s synth bands, but let’s take a tour round the…
A mix of love songs all titled ‘Love Song’ (more or less) from a mix of genres. Apologies…
A look back at some classic tracks from Nick Drake, tragically neglected in his own lifetime, and the…
Let’s do as Jarvis once asked us and meet up in the year 2000 for a look back…
Listeners have their say on bands the podcast should feature. A couple of bands featuring listeners also feature.
Herein we take a listen to musicians paying tribute to other musicians who are their influences or who…
As some of us re-enter a brutal lockdown phase, time to celebrate the ordinary lives of everyday heroes.
A Kiwi celebration of the 80s music known as The Dunedin Sound, the Flying Nun label and its…
Choice cuts from first cuts on debut albums kick off our second half century of episodes.
A celebration of different genres of alternative music, choosing one track a year from the last 16 years.…
A track a year from 1987-2003 to symbolise what was going on in alternative music in the second…
The first of 3 episodes with a track from each of the last 50 years.
In this episode, we and other artists pay tribute to Joy Division, 40 years on from their demise.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with all our friends in New York with this tribute episode to the city’s great music.
A unique opportunity to hear this soundtrack to a yet-to-be-written movie about the effect of the coronavirus on…
In this episode, we have have a listen to songs inspired by authors, from Camus and Dostoievsky to…
In which we hear varied interpretations by men of women’s songs. For the companion piece, dig out the…
Roll back the rugs. Push the sofa to one side. It’s alternative at-home dance time with Sombrero Fallout’s…
In the third and final part of our Home Recordings series, we bring it home with a genre-spanning…
In Sombrero Fallout Episode 40, we continue with Part 2 of songs recorded at home. Appropriate for these…
In Episode 39 of Sombrero Fallout, we tune into songs recorded at home. In self-isolation, if you will.
In Episode 38 of Sombrero Fallout, we take a look at glam rock and its influences.
In this episode we pay tribute to Andy Gill (RIP) of the Gang of Four. Tracks from the…
In this episode of Sombrero Fallout, we listen to tracks from Women To Watch in the 2020s.
The best 10(alternative)songs of the 2010s.
The first of two episodes curating the best alternative music of the 2010s.
In the last episode of this series of Sombrero Fallout, we complete our survey of the wonderful year…
In our 31st episode we listen to music from the post-punk year par excellence. 1979.
In our 30th episode, recorded at the same time as the World Cup 2018, we take a look…
A collection of alternative music from the participating nations in the 2018 World Cup.
A tribute episode to the best of Slowcore music from the early 90s and beyond.
In our 27th episode, we listen in to what’s emerging from the streets of Melbourne.
An alternative look at nature, pastoral music and the great outdoors.
This is the 25th anniversary edition of the podcast where Friends of Sombrero Fallout wrote in with their…
An episode dedicated to bands on the Warp record label. Classic electronica and IDM, from artists including Aphex…
In this episode, each miniature masterpiece is under two minutes long. Superb value for money – 24 songs…
A trip through some of the best songs used in independent movies, from the relentlessly jaunty to the…
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